And it is a fight when all four coaches turn their chairs for 17-year-old country artist Carson Peters from Piney Flats, Tenn., who won them over with his Blind Audition performance of “Tulsa Time.” John was the first to turn, then Blake, then Ariana, and finally Kelly. John had already used his Block to get an artist away from Ariana, so he wasn’t able to use it on the cowboy. “I heard a lot of Oklahoma references in that song,” John says. And we all know that Blake resides on a ranch in Tishomingo, Okla., so John’s chances of landing Carson are limited, but he gives it the old college try. But first, Kelly interrupts, “Well it’s ‘Livin ‘on Tulsa Time,’ that’s why.” John continues, “And you might have an interest in being with a coach from that state…” Again, Kelly interrupts, “Or the better one below it,” referring to her home state of Texas. “My name is John Legend,” the EGOT continues. “I turned before any of these other coaches did. I love that lower part of your voice at the beginning of the song but when you started to hit those big notes with such confidence, it looked like you were just having fun up there. Do you perform a lot?” Carson replies, “I started out playing the fiddle…” Kelly again, asking, “Bluegrass stuff?” Carson answers, “Yes, mam. That’s my main thing still.” John says, joking, “My chances are getting better and better. It’s making more sense for me.” Kelly begins her pitch, “I love your voice. I think it’s authentically country. What are your influences?” Carson says, “One of my biggest influences, and I’ve been lucky enough to play with him, is Mr. Ricky Skaggs.” Kelly, who is worried that Carson will choose Team Blake, pretends a confidence she doesn’t feel, saying, “Well, I hope you’ll bring out the fiddle when you’re on my team.” John kind of pathetically says, “I’m a very fiddle-friendly coach. There are no country singers on my team and you know that Blake already has some country singers. I want you to have a clear, open lane. I took a country singer to the Lives.” Kelly interrupts, “I took country singers to taking trophies home.” John pulls out his ace in the hole, “And I just won my first CMT Award with Carrie Underwood, Video of the Year. We can do this together. Let’s shock the world, Carson!” Ariana finally gets a chance to make her pitch, “I appreciate your talent so much. I heard some runs in there that really excited me and the whole performance was so enjoyable. I have no one on my team that is a country artist, and I am well aware that is not what you are choosing, so let me just say, ‘You are amazing.’” Finally, it’s Blake’s turn to convince Carson to join his team , and the most winning coach on The Voice says, “What I caution you with the other three, they can say, ‘Man, you’re bluegrass and country. I like that, too.’ Or you can understand that there is popular bluegrass music and then there’s what you hear on country radio. I am thinking if Ricky Skaggs is your man, you want to rewind time back 30 years. There’s a lot of paths we can take. What we’ve got to figure out is which one best represents who you are. Let’s not mess around with what this opportunity is for you. Let’s do this right, Carson, come on!” Before Carson reveals who he selects as his coach, he says, “Y’all made it a lot more tough than I thought it would be.” But then he can’t resist his country roots and picks Blake. The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Next, Here’s What We Know About Season 21 of The Voice, Including the 4 New Advisors
